Next launch from Vostochny spaceport to take place in late January 2018

According to Roscosmos, the reason for the failed launch from Vostochny, which took place on November 28, was an ill-defined algorithm in the Fregat booster’s control system

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MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The next launch from the Vostochny spaceport is expected to take place in late January 2018, as the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Kanopus B satellites and the Fregat booster, previously scheduled for December 22, has been delayed, First Deputy Director General of Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation Alexander Ivanov told reporters on Tuesday.

"There will be no launch on December 22, we plan to be ready by late January," he said.

According to the Roscosmos deputy director general, the reason for the failed launch from Vostochny, which took place on November 28, was an ill-defined algorithm in the Fregat booster’s control system, which made the booster take a wrong turn, lose direction and eventually fall.

Ivanov said that ahead of the January launch, all the software gaps would be eliminated. However, in his words, the issue with the Fregat booster may cause crashes only when satellites are launched into sun-synchronous orbit from Vostochny, while there will be no such incidents when launches are performed from other spaceports. This is the reason why the Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster is still planned to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 26.